Page 19 of Noah

He sought normality and safety.

Noah turned his attention to his huddled charge on his bed. He had to get the small female to safety; he had to save her. Taking care of her was his priority.

The plan wasn’t going to work, and now he was scrambling to come up with something else.

A loud clunking sounded, and he let out a growl as the gas hissed and dispersed. Blinking hard, he sat up. His eyes sought Ren and found her gasping and backing away.

Growling, he pointed at the gas. “Sleep,” he explained.

With a nod of understanding, she held out her hands and nervously licked her lips.

Inching closer, he touched her fingers. She gripped his hand tightly.

She was new to all of this, so he had to keep that in mind. It was normal for him to have strange things happening in his room, but she must have been frightened. Based on her scent, terrifying would be an apt way to describe it.

He coughed as the harsh chemical burned his nostrils. Since Adrienne didn’t react the same way, he guessed she couldn’t detect the sharp, acrid smell.

He rushed to her when he saw her slump forward to the left to prevent her from falling off the bed and onto her head. With her head cradled gently in his palm, he carefully placed her head on the edge of the bed.

He then fell to his knees beside it. To keep her from falling off he rested his head on the edge of the bed and tucked her back into place. His arms trembled as he tried to stand after hearing heavy footfalls distantly.

Shit!

His ears were irritated by the distant scream, so he struck the air to silence it.

He always felt sluggish after gas. This time was no different as he struggled to rise. His body felt like a boulder, too heavy to move, and he struggled to get up. His muscles screamed for rest, but he resolutely pushed past that and forced himself to open his eyes.

His head snapped up immediately, and he knew Ren was missing, so he growled furiously.

He was usually injected with foul-smelling fluids after they drew blood, causing him to feel disoriented for days in a row, but not this time.

No, they stole Ren. He checked every corner, hoping to find her huddled up somewhere, and found nothing.

His lips curled in dismay at the lack of her scent.

The sound emanating from his mouth was a low, mournful tone. His beast was unnerved by her absence; an angry growl escaped him.

In his mind, it was obvious what it was. It was a claiming growl. The growl said he would kill anyone who touched the female.

It was a disturbing realisation, but he didn’t have time to weigh it because a sudden terrifying scream ripped through the air. The hairs on his neck stood on end.

What could they possibly want from his tiny female?

Another scream echoed across the warehouse. This scream was tired and weak. What had happened to her to make her voice sound so hoarse and how long had he been sleeping?

He felt his beast pacing and roaring inside him. With the next blood-curdling scream, he stood, fists clenched, chest heaving, glaring at the door.

He paced, listening closer.

Suddenly, her shout was low and pained, as if she was giving up.

He and his beast both thought the same thing…no!

His chest puffed out, and he growled, ramming his shoulders into the door. The discomfort caused by the hit was insignificant compared to the pitiful moans she uttered.

With a howl of fury, he slammed into the door again. He was more terrified of what they were doing to her than he was of the momentary pain.

With all his might, he rammed into the creaking door. He let out an ear-splitting roar. It had never budged before, not an inch, no matter how enraged he became. However, the thought of the small female suffering at their hands gave him strength he hadn’t realised he possessed.

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